Air Force explores options for future protected satcom

By Defense Systems Staff

Nov 08, 2012

The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center has awarded as many as 17 contracts worth a total of $84.3 million to companies to help it explore concepts for a future generation of protected military satellite communications architecture, reports Aviation Week.

The initiative, which kicked off in September, will last for two years and will support an acquisition in the 2020 timeframe, the story said.

The existing space-based protected milsatcom architecture consists of legacy Milstar satellites and a pair of new Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft made by Lockheed Martin, the story said.

The milsatcom architecture must be able to handle command and control, as well as a variety of tactical communications needs for unmanned aircraft, ground soldiers on the move and maritime operations for the Navy and Marine Corps, the story said.